Cummins Inc.

Since its foundation in 1919, Cummins Inc. has become a global power leader in the design, manufacture, sale and service of diesel engines and related technologies to customers located in 190 countries and territories. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (the US), Cummins employs around 55,000 personnel worldwide and serves its clients through a network of approximately 600 company-owned and independent distributor locations as well as more than 7200 dealer locations. Having earned $1.4 billion profit in sales of $19.1 billion in 2015, Cummins anticipates further growth with the launch of its QSK95 into the marine industry.

As Cummins’ newest, largest and most powerful engine to date, the QSK95 boasts advanced features to make common service tasks more simple and to keep downtime to a minimum in target markets such as locomotive, power generation and, now, marine. Key to the groundbreaking capabilities of the engine is its thorough design, which enables the engine to have easy access to traditionally challenging maintenance procedures as well as innovative improvements that significantly enhance reliability, as Richard Newman, Sales Director at Cummins Inc. comments: “One example of this is the externally-mounted, screw-type lube pump, which is very reliable and robust. By mounting the pump externally, we avoid the need to drop the oil pan or lift the engine to change it, thus making it easier to service or replace.”

He continues: “When it comes to the oil pan itself, we developed a tool that makes it easy to lower and raise the pan with a couple of people in a safe manner that doesn’t involve lifting the entire engine; the tool is fully integrated into the product. Meanwhile, the cylinder head in the fuel pump can be easily lifted off the engine with a small, very compact crane that we designed and developed; this not only reduces service time, but also improves the safety and service of the operation.”

The company has also extended oil change intervals on the engine, which is attributed to longer service life as well as reduced operating costs, and has a centrifugal lubrication filtration system that is known as an Eliminator. This is agency approved and allows for longer oil change cycles when customers are monitoring their lubrication qualities. “Ultimately, we have done a lot to ensure that the operating costs are minimised and that we give a lot of life to our products,” says Richard.

Alongside these coveted benefits, the QSK95 will increase the company’s marine power range by 50 per cent, making the engine an ideal solution for high-hour, hardworking vessels such as offshore support vessels, crewboats, passenger vessels, patrol vessels and superyachts. With ratings from 2386 kW to 3132 kW, the QSK95 achieves a power output that was previously only possible from larger medium-speed marine engines; it also brings the advantages of a lower capital cost and a more compact installation. Furthermore, the engine provides 95 litres of displacement in a 78-litre package, while nested cylinders and a 60-degree V enables a short, narrow engine block that is relative to other engines of similar displacement. In addition, the QSK95 weighs in at just over 13,000 kg, which is between 25 per cent and 70 per cent less than medium speed platforms of a similar power output.

Aware that operators are seeking enhanced vessel maneuverability, the QSK95 also delivers faster transient response thanks to aunique turbo arrangement and dry system. In fact, by using one turbo per four cylinders, the innovative engine is able to use a small turbo model. The dry turbo housings and dry exhaust manifold maximise the available energy to the turbos, which allows them to spool up quickly; this leads to a fast engine response.

Discussing the time and effort that went into creating a game-changing product, Richard highlights: “More than 3000 voices went into the design and development of the QSK95. Over the last six years, more than 200 engineers spent more than 750,000 design and analysis hours developing the engine, with an extra 80,000 hours spent testing the engine for various target markets. We spent this time, and approximately $1.4 billion dollars, on not only making an innovative and durable product, but also on ensuring a product that is easy to service.”

Unveiled for the first time to the Asian maritime market at Asia Pacific Maritime, Cummins QSK95 generated a positive amount of booth traffic as people that designed, built, operated and maintained vessels stopped by to gain an understanding of the product’s benefits. “There is a long cycle between when customers begin evaluating engines of this size and when said product is actually installed in the vessel. We want to be ahead of that cycle by getting people excited and interested in the benefits of the product so they start thinking about designing a boat around it,” says Andy Kelly, Communications Manager at Cummins Inc. “Asia Pacific Maritime was a great opportunity for us to show this engine to the Asia Pacific Region and get them to consider the engine for their upcoming projects over the next 12-24 months.”

Soon to be shown at SMM 2016 in September, Cummins’ QSK95 will be delivered to early adopter customers before it is delivered to other clients for a limited production in the final quarter of 2016. Following this, Cummins will generate market awareness of the engine’s capabilities and help customers understand how to leverage the features and benefits of the product as it continues to develop and improve in line with market trends and demands. “As we progress into the marine industry, emissions will have an increasingly important role for the QSK95; this means variants of the engine will be released to meet more stringent emission regulations across the world over the next three to five years. This is a platform product, so Cummins fully intends to bring out other derivatives to fully support the marine industry as we move forward,” concludes Richard.

Cummins Inc.

Global power leader that serves customers in 190 countries and territories

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